It's Raining, It's Pouring

Two Non-Boring Ways To Pass a Wet San Francisco Day:

1. Japantown Center-The Japan Town Center, located on Post between Buchanan and Webster, is a good place to wander around when it is wet outside. Here you will find dozens of cute little stores selling japanese items, as well as a sword shop, a bookstore with a huge collection of Manga, and a place where you can get your picture taken at an array of little photo-booths. There are also plenty of places to eat and most of them are good. On a cold and rainy day my favorite way to warm up is through consuming a steaming bowl of miso ramen topped with japanese mountain vegetables from Mifune, located in the area of the center called the Kintetsu Mall.

Attached to the Japantown Center at Fillmore and Geary Streets is the Kabuki Spa, which is also a great place to kill a few hours. Kabuki is not cheap at $25, but for this price you can enjoy their dry sauna, wet sauna, cold pool, and hot tub for as long as you like. They also offer tea, magazines, and lounge chairs which makes it easy to put in some serious hours. If it is still raining when you finish the Sundance Kabuki Cinema is just around the corner.

2. Exploratorium-This wild and wacky museum is not just for kids! (Although it is a good place to keep them entertained if you happen to have some). Located at 3601 Lyon at Jefferson in the Marina District this science extravaganza is the perfect place to head towards if your Crissy Field outing starts to get a bit wet. And no worries if it happens to turn ugly while you are in a different area. Directly outside the Exploratorium the parking is free and the spots are a-plenty

Unlike other museums that tend to have a look-but-don't-touch policy, the Exploratorium encourages its patrons to man-handle the exhibits. A few of the cool things you can do here: Stand in a giant bubble, suspend a ball on a stream of air, make a full body contact photo on a huge screen, and teach a computer to talk. For an extra $5 you can also visit the Tactile Dome, which is a pitch-black space that you must walk, crawl, and slide through relying only on your non-seeing senses. While not for the claustrophobic or faint of heart, making your way through the Tactile Dome is a completely unique sensation that must be experienced to be truly understood.

This place does draw a rather kid-heavy crowd so if the thought of sharing the fun with a bunch of rug rats sounds unappealing, check out the adults-only "Exploratorium After Dark" series on the first thursday of each month from 6-10pm. With special adult themed exhibitions and booze, it is worth the trip even in the nicest weather. You can find more info on the Exploratorium here.
  

I Live Here SF

I Live Here SF is a great blog that proposes to, "share the spirit and fascinating layers of this city through the words and faces of those who live here." This interesting and worthwhile project really does a fantastic job of capturing The City's spirit, and should not be missed by anyone curious about the people who call it home.

The most recent profile caught my attention because the subject Rose Marie is just soooo San Francisco. Check her out here.

Bottoms Up

What is there to do in San Francisco? Well have a drink, of course. According to the Daily Beast The City is the 3rd drunkest in America, out-ranked only by Milwaukee, WI and Fargo, ND.

So if you want to do as the locals do, park yourself at one of the numerous bars and -BOTTOMS UP!

Renegade Craft Fair

If etsy were a place it would look like the Renegade Craft Fair.

Why waste another afternoon at the mall riffling through generic crap when you could go to the Renegade Craft Fair?! The Renegade Craft Fair is the perfect place to find those last minute holiday gifts, or just pick up some unique, handmade goodies for yourself. And they are serving booze!

You can get more info on the Renegade Craft Fair here.

Spotlight: Crissy Field

Need a Kodak moment by the Golden Gate? With its rugged Northern California landscape, sweeping bay views, and easy beach access Crissy Field may be the best place in San Francisco to get a look at its most famous landmark. While most other viewpoint areas are nothing more than strategically placed parking lots, Crissy Field is a beautiful park, natural area and historic site that also happens to offer a great vantage point for bridge viewing.

Crissy Field was originally a salt marsh frequented by the local Ohlone people and later used as an airfield for the Presidio Army Base. After the base shut down this site was taken over by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), which has restored much of it to its original condition. Today Crissy Field consists of a walkway surrounded by one of the city's best beaches on one side, and protected marshland and the namesake field on the other.

I like to enter Crissy Field via the parking lot by Marina Blvd. and walk the roughly 1.5 mile promenade to the West Bluff picnic area, where I relax and refuel. There are two options for food and drink here if you did not bring your own: The Warming Hut cafe and the Let's Be Frank hotdog cart. My money's been on Let's Be Frank after several anemic and overpriced sandwiches at the cafe. While I'm not a huge fan of hotdogs, Let's Be Frank's dogs are not your average Oscar Meyer weenies. Grass fed, organic, three choices of meat. You can't go wrong with one of these delicious calorie rolls after a nice 1.5 mile walk.

After being fortified with a Lets Be Frank frank the next logical step is to continue on the path, past the sign that reads "Not A Pedestrian Walkway" (ignore it), and down the short stretch of road that leads to Fort Point. Fort Point is directly underneath the Golden Gate and offers a unique perspective from which to take it its reddish-orange glory. A map of Crissy Field and Fort Point can be found here.

If walking is not your thing, bikes can be rented at the nearby Sports Basement. Bikes are allowed on the promenade but beware of pedestrians and especially their dogs! Dogs abound at Crissy Field and they are not required to be on leash so it is important to keep your eyes on the road, lest you run into someone's little precious.

Crissy Field offers an idyllic escape from the gritty urban environment without having to leave the city. This urban gem is easily accessible by car or Muni and should be visited by everyone*.

*Except those afraid of or allergic to dogs, people, hotdogs and/or bridges.

Muni Diaries Live

Muni Diaries Live

Derek Powazek shares the misery, mystery, and mayhem that is Muni as part of a series called Muni Diaries, held at the Make-Out Room last month. Don't miss his last story as this tale of teamwork and Muni redemption is sure to get you exited about a ride on the N-Judah.




Thanks Muni Diaries for the scoop.

Bay Area Slang Part 2

It always amuses me when people ask about my accent. Really? If we are on my home turf then it's you that has the accent buddy, not me. I guess I can't really blame these misguided souls for their confusion since the natives can sometimes be difficult to spot in a city where most of its inhabitants were born someplace else.

One good way to detect a native is to listen to the way they talk. Certain words, phrases, and even pronunciations (It's SanFrnSisco not San-Fran-sis-co as the iconic Herb Caen noted in his  local column) can be good indicators of a person's relationship to the Bay Area. Below is a list of common words that can help you identify the natives, and understanding what the heck we are talking about.

The Abridged Dictionary of Bay Area Slang

Bammer-bad or phony.  adj. "I  wanted to dress up for Halloween but all I had was that bammer Sarah Palin costume from 2008." n. "When she was good she was very very good, but when she was bad she was bammer."

Bank-to beat or physically injure. v. "In the third round the champion really began to bank on the challenger." "Yesterday on Muni I saw two women banking on each other over a seat."

Cap-to insult. n. "There is nothing that people bear more impatiently, or forgive less, than contempt: and an injury is much sooner forgotten than a cap." v. "Are you capping on me? I'm warning you, I'm not the kind of person you should be capping on."

Cuts-someplace far away. n. "I would visit her more often if she didn't live in the cuts." v. "I know a cutty place where we can get away."

Fade-put money in on something. v. "Do you want to fade on a pitcher of beer?" "Last night we all faded on a large pizza for dinner." 

Hella-very. adv. "The fog out in The Richmond was hella thick this morning. I could barely see ten feet in front of me." "That burrito was hella bammer so I ended up throwing most of it away."

Moded-embarrassed. v. "All she could tell him after witnessing his failed attempt to jump over the parking meter was, 'you're hella moded.'" "He felt moded that none of his friends came to see him preform at open mic night."

Mug-to give a dirty look to. n. "She was muggin that girl on the bus, that's why she got banked on." "Don't mug me when your the one that should feel moded."

Tight-cool. n. "He thinks that his new haircut is tight, but I think it looks bammer." adj. "Her parents own this tight spot out in the cuts and they said we could stay there over the summer."

Trippin-stressing or freaking out. v. "A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken while trippin." "I'm not trippin over what she said, I know she wasn't capping on me."